Premier League star James McClean has received death threats after refusing to wear an embroidered poppy on his shirt during a top-flight match.

The Irish winger did not wear a jersey with a poppy emblem during Sunderland's match against Everton on November 10.

The poppy commemorates Remembrance Day, and honours those who sacrificed their lives in wars.

Sunderland's Danny Rose pictured with a poppy emblem on his shirt

The footballer has since been targeted on social networking site Twitter, including by one user who posted pictures of bullets and wrote: "He deserves to be shot dead + body dragged past the cenotaph!!"

McClean was booed by fans during his side's 3-1 win over Fulham on Sunday, but manager Martin O’Neill said it was the player's "free choice" not to wear the poppy.

"James will deal with it. I think it's probably to do with the issue of last week," he said.

"It's a free choice in this world. James has lived with a lot of things. He's getting death threats as well so that doesn't help."

The footballer was subjected to abuse on Twitter earlier this year after switching national teams from Northern Ireland to Ireland.